Month: September 2018

Episode 48: Meuse Argonne – Allies on the Attack

In the summer of 1918 the Germans were spent, and the Allies began rolling them back. Supreme Allied Commander Marshal Ferdinand Foch had a plan to smash the enemy back and potentially end the war that year.

 

GEN John J “Blackjack” Pershing and his American Expeditionary Force were to play a major role in Foch’s plan, but to Pershing only as an independent force under his command. The story of the plans for the Meuse-Argonne Offensive is one of two very strong personalities coming together after a long, bumpy road.

 

The BFWWP is now on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BattlesoftheFirstWorldWarPodcast.

 

Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com or the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook. Follow us on Twitter at @WW1podcast, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes.


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Hawthorn Ridge Crater Association – A Minor Correction and Some Videos

Hey Folks, it’s been a little bit, hasn’t it?

The last two weeks have seen the beginning of the new school year here in the US, and as always these first days are busy for teachers. This year was no exception, although it was smoother.

So, here are the videos I took during our visit to the Hawthorn Ridge Crater. They feature battlefield archeologist Mr. Colin Winn talking to us about the explosives used in the mine below, the explosion itself, and how it shaped the crater. Later videos feature Mr. Winn discussing the creation of the second crater, and of other evidence found inside the two massive blast holes.

There are also a few corrections to be made to the interview episode with Mr. Winn, and these errors have been fixed thanks to an Englishman who is very passionate about WW1 and who is connected to the Hawthorn Ridge Crater Association (HRCA).

Well, it turns out that it’s not two brothers who were part owners of the crater who weren’t speaking. This is too bad, really, from the standpoint that I had hoped through a shared historical connection we could see a family dispute ended and brothers reunited–it’d make a hell of a story!

Alas, the two ornery owners are apparently two local village council members. Word is that any village council meeting where one speaks to the other ends in an argument, which confirms to us that hey, people are the same the world over.

In other information, the Hawthorn Crater is owned by the village of Beaumont-Hamel, and the village has leased the crater to the HRCA for the next 99 years. The pathway up to the crater has been cleaned up, widened, and covered with mulch to ease foot traffic on the slope. The Association’s goals are to eventually build up the area for tourists to come and reflect, and they  hope to install panoramic information panels near the crater that will explain the history of the immediate area during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

So, here are the videos:

2nd Video Clip

Episode 47: Meuse Argonne – An Interview with Randy Gaulke of Meuse-Argonne.com

It’s time to start the new battle we’re going to cover, which will be the American-led Meuse-Argonne Offensive of 1918. We’re going to begin with an interview with Mr. Randy Gaulke, a fellow WW1 enthusiast, researcher, website master, and battlefield tour guide.

 

Mr. Gaulke runs the website www.meuse-argonne.com, which contains a wealth of information regarding the 47-day battle that defined American involvement in the Great War. The website contains several features such as bibliographies, articles, research statistics, travel tips, and a feature called “People of the Meuse-Argonne,” where individuals who study, write about, or live in the Meuse-Argonne give a quick biography of themselves. There is also a meuse-argonne.com FaceBook page, which connects you with hundreds of like-minded and incredibly helpful folks who readily share information, photos, and travel tips.

 

Please check out: www.meuse-argonne.com

 

and

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1624894481060334/

 

The BFWWP is now on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BattlesoftheFirstWorldWarPodcast.

 

Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com or the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook. Follow us on Twitter at @WW1podcast, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes.


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St. Mihiel German Military Cemetery

One of the points of interest during our day in St. Mihiel was the German Military Cemetery. Located in Gobessart Woods north of Apremont-la-Forét, this resting place for 6,046 German soldiers is located deep in the woods off a dirt road at the edge of a semi-industrial area. After the Great War, French authorities allowed Germany to retain military cemeteries in France, but they were to be consolidated and located in out-of-the-way areas.

The St. Mihiel German Cemetery is located in the Gobessart Woods off the D907 Road, north of Apremont-la-Forét. Over 6,000 Germans rest here. Many are from 1914 and 1915, and many as well were moved here from smaller cemeteries after the Great War.
Plaque for three Remembrance Trees planted here in 2010.
The St. Mihiel German Cemetery is a sparse but peaceful place.
Reading the metal directory listing the names of the fallen.
A monument moved here from a former cemetery in Woinville. A soldier mourns the loss of his friends.
1914-1916: Fallen Heroes of the Watch on the Meuse and Moselle.
German gravestones moved to St. Mihiel from other areas. After the war, many cemeteries were consolidated.

Episode SA7: An Interview with the Hawthorn Ridge Crater Association

During my recent trip to France, my crew and I had the most wonderful experience when we visited Mr. Andy Robertshaw and Mr. Colin Winn and their archeological dig team out at the Hawthorn Crater on the Somme. How we met the people of the Hawthorn Crater Association will be told in the interview that follows–it was just a stunningly amazing day amongst so many amazing days out there on the Somme and previously in the Argonne.

 

For many years the Hawthorn Crater has sat in relative obscurity on the Somme battlefield. It has been overgrown with trees and brush, and it has remained enough off the beaten path that most tourists have bypassed it altogether. The Hawthorn Crater Association is changing that. Through limited clearance of diseased trees and careful archeological digs conducted with the enthusiastic support of the people of nearby Beaumont-Hamel village, Mr. Robertshaw, Mr. Winn, and several others are bringing the story of the crater and the men who lived in it, fought in it, and died in it, back to life.

 

As I will say at the end of the interview, this is not just digging in the earth looking for pieces of metal from the Battle of the Somme. It is so much more than that, as you will hear. And to be clear: no archeological dig is just digging in the dirt, it’s really important and fascinating stuff!

 

Due to some technical difficulties, Mr. Robertshaw was unable to join us. The VOIP connection also tended to be a bit wobbly at times, but I think overall you’ll be able to understand things fairly clearly.

 

Please follow the Hawthorn Ridge Crater Association on Twitter to stay up to date: @HawthornRidgeCA  

 

The BFWWP is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BattlesoftheFirstWorldWarPodcast.

 

Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com or the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook. We’re also on Twitter! Follow us at @WW1podcast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes.


Check out this episode!